Being an adult has its plus sides, I suppose. For example, nobody threatens to withhold your only source of income if you don’t tidy your bedroom.* Also, CAKE FOR BREAKFAST, PEOPLE! I wanted to add a third item to this list, but I’m struggling to think of one, so instead I’ll show you a picture from today’s autumnal walk with the twinnage:-
But mostly, adulthood involves noticing stuff and guiltily muttering “Oh yeah, I must sort that out,” 712 times per day. The last time I was fully up to date with the to-do list was pretty much at birth. I wish I’d kicked back and savoured that moment a wee while longer before the tasks began piling up: attempt first smile, get potty-trained, replace the sealant around the bath…
…That said, the defective sealant around the bath did lead to my first meeting with one of my dearest friends. It was 2001, I was living blissfully alone in a flat in north Oxford, studying/working for my doctorate.
Unbeknownst to me, a leak from my poorly-sealed bath was turning her bathroom on the floor below into a revolting mass of mould. She notified me of the problem via a fierce letter, so I tiptoed downstairs to apologise and to arrange how to resolve the issue, mindful of the fact that I’d seen law texts in her window so she was probably pernickety and litigious and we’d doubtless detest each other on sight.
Just how wrong can a knitter be? Many hours later – at about 3am if I recall – I finally left her flat, having discovered that (i) she’s thoroughly lovely, (ii) we have tonnes in common, and (iii) we’d be friends forever, even though she was due to move back home to Greece imminently. Sometimes you just know, yes? A few visits either way have happened since then, and I think she’s beginning the slow process of forgiving me for wrecking her bathroom whilst she was briefly on sabbatical in the UK.
But I was supposed to be discussing to-do lists.
There comes a point where, despite my best efforts, there are so very many things that need sorting that it’s tempting to disappear from my own life and resurface with a blissfully empty to-do list in a far-flung land… except that the logistics of doing so would involve organising and sorting-out, so for now this cute little fantasy must languish somewhere below getting the car serviced on my list of stuff.
One of the many, many things I’ve been meaning to do is to publish a pattern that quite a few of you have requested. It’s this cowl:-
I’ve designed lots of cowls over the years (when I should have been doing tedious stuff like fixing the guttering on the shed – I’ve never yet met any new friends via faulty guttering but I live in hope), but this is the cowl that I wear most often. It goes with everything, it’s cosy, the colours are pretty, and it’s pleasingly large. I was commissioned to design it by the craft shop chain ‘Hobbycraft’, and for a good few years the pattern was on their website. Sadly, the recommended yarn seems to have been discontinued, and I’m not sure the pattern is even on their site any more. That means I can publish it here without anybody suing me, right?
I’ve been pondering alternative yarns and experimenting with various options. Right now the frontrunner is Rowan Felted Tweed, although the gauge isn’t quite right.
Give me a week or two and I’ll figure it out. And then I’ll publish the pattern here, for free. You’ll be the very first to know, I promise. To the people who’ve emailed/messaged me about this, it’s coming. And to the people who’ve messaged me about other stuff, I’ll get there. Apologies for being slow. Sometimes my introvert self needs to run away and hide under a stone for a while.
But I have more to say on the subject of friendship. Another of my close friends, whose bathroom I have yet to damage in any significant way, has a blog. Actually we met via her blog/Insta. Sometimes the people you meet on the web are not psychopathic weirdos; sometimes they’re warm-hearted, clever, creative, earth-loving people whom you’re quick to love. This particular friend has an Insta here, and, after shelving her previous blog, has relaunched her writings here. Trust me when I say that this is a yarny woman to watch.
Anyway. I’d love to chat more, but I need to cook the dinner and unblock the washing machine and… Did I mention to-do lists?
Happy yarnery, people.
Phil x
*With apologies to Mother Twisted and Father Twisted, because you wisely never linked chores to finances when I was a kid. But the idea made for a good opening paragraph.
Thanks for posting this. I am working on MY to do list right now!!
We adults can put our pjs on at 7:30pm because we WANT to!!
Beautiful nature photos as always, Phil!
Cheers to autumn,
Heather
(Sometimes I wonder about leaving a comment when I know I’m not going to be able to read any comments on your site for ages and ages .. Wish I knew what causes this irritating fact.)
Your walk with the twinnage is so breathtakingly beautiful that mere words can’t possibly do it justice. You, wisely, simply showed it to us all ..
How are things with you, Phil ? – how’s the back to absolutely full recovery path trending ?
I see your friend K has much the same sense of humour; and her uphill battle is in trying to recapture her erstwhile blog contents. She has a fine plan for ‘from now on’ !
That is possibly THE BEST parsnip I have ever seen ! How do you cook ’em ?
hi phil,
i have the autumn leaves cowl pattern from Hobbycrafts in 2018 …
i havent knit it yet … other things keep coming up… you know how that goes.
i hope you are well … i love reading your blogs.
best regards,
daisy 🙂
Gorgeous photos! Thank you for letting us into your autumn world. And, you know you’ll get done what needs doing. I’ve got a wicked left brain and am a “lister. The docs at works call me the Queen Facilitator. However, there’s a downside to that- if you can do that, why not more work? Your cowl is simply beautiful and I look forward to its pattern release. Hope your struggles in fiber searching work out well. Sending good vibes for continued healing and good health. All the best for the upcoming seasons.
Beautiful autumn pictures and a cowl to go with it. I stumbled across the cowl on the Hobbycraft website a while ago and sadly it could no longer be purchased. I am hoping you will publish it on your site, it’s just so lovely and really showcases autumn😊
Thank you, Phil! I enjoyed your fall walk, list musings – it IS one of those days where I am contemplating moving house to escape the assorted clutter (all for a good, charity course, but overwhelming nonetheless). And yesterday, I finished the Conquerer Romantic Road challenge – inspired by your running all the way up through England! Hope you are well! Monika – on a beautiful blue-sky sunny fall day in Ontario, Canada
Yes, that cowl was so stunningly made. I adore it. I think we have to live with a to-do list that never will be fulfilled. Thanks for that tip about Buttons and spickles.
I have to say your pictures are gorgeous. I’d love to wander that path. Everything is still so green. My one deciduous tree is looking like a backdrop to a scary story. The weather forecast calls for a wintery mix overnight. Is that a parsnip in your garden basket? Your cowl is beautiful. I can hear knitting needles all over the world getting ready for you to publish the pattern. Thank you for sharing the always entertaining, twisted musings of your very clever mind. Teresa in Michigan US
Can’t wait for the cowl. Just finished your Hiking Reindeer cowl. Delighted with the result. Keep up the good work.
Can’t wait for the cowl. Just finished your Hiking Reindeer cowl. Delighted with the result. Keep up the good work.
What gorgeous photos! Shuffling through leaves needs that cowl….😉 Thanking you in advance!
Oh sealing the bath!! I used to do mine yearly when I was working…and now I’m retired and have more time it keeps slipping my mind…However I am not in a flat and no damage is apparent in our basement…yet…
I am looking forward to knitting that cowl pattern. Such a lovely design.
Regarding your friend’s new blog (with leaf pattern), I could not see where to sign up in a”Box to the right” in both months. Perhaps you could take a peek, and tell her?
I may have a guttering project for you and the boys to play with at some point….
Love the autumnal photos and the beautiful autumnal cowl! Just have to sort my “to do” list first!
Lovely to hear from you Phil xx
Oh, I so get that to-do list and the escape plan. Always too much to do, and never enough time.
You spread joy, Phil. <3 xX
Lovely post, Phil! I love that cowl. The colors are soooo autumnal. I follow Buttons and Pickles on instagram; thank you for guiding me to her blog. I have met the nicest people through blogging.
Loved your post and all the photos. I just started following buttonspickles on insta thanks for the recommendation.
Thank you for the distraction from my to-do list (which includes booking a root canal, smear test, selling an old car, getting quotes for a new roof and doing my income tax) 😟
Morning lovely. As you can see reading your latest musings was on my To Do list 🙈 but I’ve got there…
The rest of it appears to just keep growing, except for purchasing more yarn that is. The house sorting pre move has become a bit of a fizzle since our proposed house fell through, therefore I shall still be haring around stuffing things into bin liners when we find somewhere else.
I promise to stay up to date with you too. X
Loved the autumnal photos this time and the cowl is beautiful! Thank you and keep well!